We want short self-contained stories set in Toronto with diverse characters to reflect the city we share. Your work can be in any genre and tone, but must be visibly set in Toronto. That can be a scifi TO, feudal Tee-Dot, magical treefort Hogtown, or crumbling 6ix ruins, but it must have imagery that reminds the reader where it’s set.

We’re especially interested in stories using genres not commonly found in western comics - sports, romance, true history, westerns, and so on!

If your story is part of a larger series, make sure that a new reader can still follow the action. Stories should be aimed at as a wide audience as possible, and should be rated PG13 at most.

Stories should be between 2 and 8 pages long, but the absolute maximum is 10 pages. The sweet spot is about 6 pages! We also want a handful of very short 1-2 page mini-comics.

What we’re NOT looking for

Stories should not feature excessively ‘gritty’ or extreme content.

We generally accept only 1-2 superhero story per anthology, so other genres are a safer bet.

Stories with excessive navel-gazing. Meditative or slow-paced stories are fine, but avoid stories where characters don’t make choices.

We’re not looking for autobio stories, unless your personal story reflects some larger aspect of Toronto. Good examples of autobio stories are Vol 2’s “Sandwich Boards and Salami” by BC Holmes, where she related her personal creative journey in parallel with Toronto self-publishing icon Crad Kilodney, and Vol 3’s “A Work in Progress” by Gwen Howarth, where she connects her own personal growth with the acceptance of the Trans March of Toronto Pride.

Specs

Dimensions:

6” x 9” ( identical to Vol 1-4 )

Release date:

May 2018

Length:

208 pages. +-150 pages of that will be artwork.

MSRP:

$20 CDN

Artwork:

300dpi CYMK full-colour pages submitted digitally.

Sales channels:

Kickstarter and conventions sales, as well as Chapters Indigo and local Toronto stores.

Payment

Writers will be paid $11 CDN per page, to a maximum of $110 ( 10 pages ).
Artists will be paid $25 CDN per page for pencils and inks, to a maximum of $250 ( 10 pages ).
Colorists will be paid $15 CDN per page, to a maximum of $150 ( 10 pages ).

Creators who perform multiple roles will be paid for each, to a maximum of $510 ( 10 pages ).

If a script receives first-draft approval, even if it is not illustrated or included in the final book, the writer will be paid the page rate.

If a comic is drawn, but for content, quality or space reasons is not included in the final book, all creators involved will be paid for their work.

Free Books
All contributors will receive 3 free copies of the printed book, and will be able to order additional books at a reduced cost. The reduced cost will be about $6 a book.

Fast Track Bonus ( new! )
If the comic is fully complete before February 1st, 2018, so that it can be used in the March ComiCon promotional mini or Kickstarter marketing, each member of that creative team will receive an additional ten complimentary copies for a total of thirteen copies.

Payment Schedule
Creators will be paid one month after the Kickstarter completes, or June 1st, whichever is first. Creators will still be paid if the Kickstarter fails.

Rights and ownership
Artists and writers retain all rights to their work, and give us indefinite reprint license to include it in this anthology and reprints, as well as for use in digital copies and marketing materials. You will always be credited for the work.

You’ll grant us the right of first publication until Jan 1st, 2019. After that, you can submit the piece to other anthologies, display it in your website, or distribute it however you please. If you need a special exemption, just give us a shout and we can work something out.

Submitting a Script

We will pair unattached writers and artists, so you can submit without having a full creative team.

Less experienced writers are encouraged to attend a social pitch meeting before submitting their pitch.

A number of spaces are reserved for unpublished writers, so don’t be intimidated if you haven’t been in print before!

Contributors don’t have to currently live in Toronto, but must have some living experience with the city.

Plot summary
One to three paragraphs describing what happens. You don’t have to list everything in detail, but include enough to explain why an audience would be intrigued, and why the resolution will satisfy them.

Story length
An estimate of how many pages long the story will be.

Brief bio
One to three paragraphs describing yourself and your writing experience. If you’ve been previously published, let us know!

Artist details
If you’re intending to draw the story yourself, or have an artist already interested in working with you, mention that as well!

Optional Social Pitch Meeting

If you’d like to get immediate feedback, come to our group pitching meeting on Saturday, August 5 from 2-4pm at The Lillian H. Smith Library!

Writers should bring two great pitches with them, and be prepared to present them to a group of friendly strangers. Make sure that both ideas are equally strong, because you don’t want to be stuck developing a story you’re not invested in.

Both artists and writers are encouraged to attend! Everyone will vote on which pitch is most intriguing, and would reach the widest audience.

After the group has given you their feedback, you’ll have a week before the email pitch deadline to develop your strongest pitch.

Applying as an Artist

Artist-Writer pairing
Unattached artists will be presented with a list of available scripts, and will select the ones they’re most interested in.

If multiple artists pick the same story, the writer will choose the artist whose style matches their vision best.

In rare cases, editors may assign an artist directly to a story, but we want everyone to be passionate about the story they’re illustrating.

What if I want to work with my friend?
Great! If your friend wants to work with you, everything’s cool. Many of our best stories have come from writer-artist pairs who knew each other before applying.

Stories will always open on the left hand page. Dramatic page reveals should be planned with this in mind!

Where possible, stories will have a blank page of space at the end to clearly separate them.

Title Pages
Stories will have a standardized typography-only title page on the right leaf, listing the story title and all creators involved in the story ( ie., penciller, inker, letterer, etc. ).

File Specs
Artists will be submitting their work in 300dpi CYMK TIFF files to a Google Docs folder.

Kickstarter

Vol 5 is projected to cost $28,152 CDN. For the Kickstarter, we're going to ask for $15,000 CDN to fund the project, and plan to exceed the goal.

The goal is deliberately set significantly lower than the full cost to reduce risk. Kickstarter takes 9% of funds raised, so the break-even point is $30.6k.

Our Yonge At Heart Kickstarter earned $20k, and I believe that with a wide social media push, greater organization and better graphic design assets, we can reach a larger return. We’ll also offer t-shirts, prints, and original artwork for sale.

We’ll be asking artists to donate pages or original artwork for the KS.

What is the money spent on?

Creators

$10,652

Printing 2,000 copies

$9,000

Kickstarter supplies and shipping

$7,900

Marketing

$600

Total cost

$28,152

Stretch Goals

These may change as we get closer to the Kickstarter launch.

At 16k: All digital orders include PDFS of previous volumes.
At 18k: All physical orders receive six adorable 1” character buttons created by Mandy James.
At 20k: All physical orders receive six adorable stickers using the same assets as the buttons.

What if it fails?

If the goal is not met, creators will still be paid. We’ll look into printing a much smaller run of books - probably 500 or less - funded by the contributors.